Touching Spot for Filipino Food Brand Looks Back on the Pandemic from 20 Years in the Future

In the future when we look back on today, how would we describe the pandemic? What version of history would we tell?

This is the theme of the Filipino multinational chain Jollibee’s first global brand campaign developed by BBH Singapore, which reinterprets the brand’s tagline of 'Joy of Family' in the context of the current pandemic.

When the pandemic broke out, everyone was unprepared and had to face an uncomfortable reality – that life as we knew it changed overnight. It was painful, scary and upended lives around the world. Yet it is in our darkest hours when we see what’s most dear to us - our families. From physically spending every waking hour together in lockdown to long video calls across continents, our family was what got us through. This was the year of the pandemic, but it was also the year of the family.

The 3-minute-long campaign film titled 'A Message from the Future', shot in New York and directed by award-winning director Law Chen, tells a perspective-changing story about the times we are currently living in, which will leave you feeling grateful for what’s getting us through it all: family.

In a departure from Jollibee’s usual campaigns, the current film adopts a sombre and realistic tone as it goes in the future to record a nostalgic and emotional story of a migrant Filipino family based in the US. Set in 2060, the film shows a grandfather recounting his memory of the pandemic to his grandchildren. The story starts off on a bleak note but gives way to hope and joyful family moments that could have only happened because the family spent more time together, a transition highlighted through the film's progression from black and white shots to coloured ones.

Commenting on the campaign, Francis Flores, JFC’s Philippines Country Marketing head and Jollibee PH Marketing head, said: “Jollibee as a brand has been all about the joy of family, and while in our current times it may be difficult to focus solely on that aspect, we realize just the same that there’s a silver lining in all this.  Coming from a powerful truth that we are spending time with our families more than ever, it has never happened before and may never happen again – we wanted this campaign to acknowledge the grim reality of the current pandemic but still give a positive message of hope. It’s all about appreciating these moments with them and finding the ultimate joy with family. Our families have been a comforting factor for most of us in these tough times and we wanted everyone to be grateful for that.”

Sascha Kuntze, chief creative officer, BBH Singapore, said: “We got a little tired of seeing empty streets and locked up places in commercials. The pandemic was and is a lot more personal. To really make an impact we wanted to show a perspective nobody had explored before.”

Launched on 16th May, the film is the grand culmination of Jollibee’s new Family Thanksgiving month initiative, which was launched to encourage everyone to always appreciate and be thankful for their families.